Kids Count Report – Oklahoma

Posted on October 13, 2010 by townsend

• ‘Kids Count’ report shows progress for Oklahoma children, By Michael Overall, October 13, 2010, Tulsa World: “Statistically, children in Oklahoma seem to be healthier and better off now than they were in the mid-1990s, according to the annual ‘Kids Count’ report released Tuesday. But the researchers themselves are quick to mention that old saying: Statistics don’t tell the whole story. ‘Especially in this case,’ said Linda Terrell, executive director of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, which presented the report at the University of Central Oklahoma. From birth weights and infant mortality to juvenile crime and drop-out rates, the report compares a dozen different categories of statistics to measure the well-being of children in the state. In most categories, Oklahoma has seen positive long-term trends. ‘But,’ Terrell raises a finger in the air to emphasize this point, ‘the data come from 2008,’ the most recent year with available information…”
• Parents in prison cause problems for Oklahoma children, By John Estus, October 12, 2010, The Oklahoman: “An Oklahoma mother is sent to prison. Her child is left motherless, develops emotional problems and flunks out of school. The child has a baby of her own before turning to drugs, a life of crime or both. Then that mother is sent to prison, leaving another child with a parent behind bars. This bleak cycle likely happens at a higher rate in Oklahoma than any other state, a new report shows. Oklahoma incarcerates more women per capita than any other state, and their children are five times more likely to end up in prison than their peers, according to the annual Kids Count Factbook from the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy. Lawmakers are taking notice of the issue as they grapple with an underfunded, overcrowded state prison system. The report states more than half of the nearly 26,000 people in state prisons are parents whose imprisonment means their children face a higher risk of going to prison themselves than their peers. Policymakers want to stop that domino effect, particularly when it comes to locking up mothers who committed nonviolent crimes…”